Managed Exchange
Why Managed Exchange?
- Premium hosted email, ideal for businesses
- Email hosting that includes anti-virus and spam filtering
- WebCentral manages hardware and back-ups to protect your critical information
- Flexible access to your mailbox content via any web browser, whether you are in
the office, working from home or on the road
Who should use Managed Exchange?
Managed Exchange is ideal for any business whose staff:
- need to work together using frequently shared information;
- have to make the most of their time;
- need to have flexible access to critical work tools such as email, contacts and
calendar when they cannot make it into the office.
The power of Managed Exchange has been available to large companies with substantial
budgets for some time now, by purchasing Microsoft's full Exchange solution. However,
through more than two years of research and development (working closely with Microsoft),
WebCentral has made this product available to all businesses.
This is a significant win for small and medium-sized businesses who want to take
full advantage of this powerful business tool, without having to make the significant
investments and commitments required to run a full Microsoft Exchange system inhouse.
How can Managed Exchange help my business?
Managed Exchange can help your business in three key ways:
- It converts Microsoft Outlook from an email communication device into a critical
work tool that staff use to:
- Better access to critical and frequently used information (eg. client and supplier
contact details);
- Coordinate their daily schedules through personal calendar tools;
- Work with other staff to arrange and prepare for meetings using the 'Meeting Planner'
function; and
- Book or reserve popular shared company resources (eg. meeting rooms, data projectors,
cars etc)
- Staff can access their email and Outlook work tools (mentioned above) through a
number of web-enabled devices such as: Desktop PCs, laptops, PDAs with GPRS, WAP
mobile phones with GPRS, BlackBerry mobile devices with GPRS, and internet kiosks.
Data (eg. email inbox, sent items, calendar items, contact records, etc.) is constantly
synchronised and updated, so no matter how staff access their work tools, they always
have the most up-to-date information when online.
- It helps staff be more organised and get more out of their day. By using Public
Folders (ie. 'shared' calendars, contact lists and email stores of information),
staff can better plan and access vital work information. Outlook work tools allow
staff to:
- Set tasks - an electronic 'to do' list;
- 'Flag' emails for follow-up attention;
- Review colleagues' availability for meetings;
- Send, receive, accept and/or decline meeting invitations; and
- Access shared contact lists of important groups such as clients and suppliers to
ensure everyone has up-to-date details.
How is Managed Exchange different from the basic POP email accounts included with
my hosting plan?
Managed Exchange is WebCentral’s premium email service which can be used in place
of the POP mailboxes included with your hosting plan. It is a business-grade service
that provides anti-virus, anti-spam, back-ups and flexible access options, including
support for mobile devices.
Some of the key differences between POP3 email and Managed Exchange are as follows:
- Virus and Spam Management: Managed Exchange incorporates comprehensive
virus management which scans each email four times against the latest virus databases
whether it is in the Inbox, in Sent Items or filed in a storage folder. This helps
to ensure that your staff computers better protected against virus-led 'downtime',
and can also help save you time and money as we are responsible for the purchasing,
installing and managing of the anti-virus software on your behalf. Managed Exchange
also includes spam filtering capabilities.
- Email Backup: The risk of losing your email records (eg. through
PC or laptop corruption) is greater with a POP3 mailbox because emails get downloaded
over the internet from a service provider's mail server to your PC or laptop - and
copies generally do not remain on the server. Managed Exchange on the other hand
stores your email, as well as your valuable contact lists and calendar schedules,
on the secure Exchange servers at WebCentral. This means that if you are a Managed
Exchange user and your PC or laptop is corrupted, your valuable information should
be effectively backed up at WebCentral and can be immediately accessed through any
computer with an internet connection and web browser.
- Easier and Better Access: Trying to access POP3 mailboxes from
multiple locations to send and receive email can be a complex task, which is generally
more time-consuming than most busy working people can afford. Managed Exchange eliminates
this difficulty in two ways:
- Multiple access points - including your work PC or laptop, your home PC or any PC
or laptop with an internet connection; and
- Synchronisation - however you access your mailbox, the information is continually
updated back at the WebCentral exchange server. This means that people can work
while out of the office and easily access their email, contacts and calendars by
simply going to a web site and entering their mailbox username and password. Users
can also be assured that any changes made through the Outlook Web Access (OWA) interface
(eg. emails sent, contacts added or updated and calendar items moved around) will
appear when they next use their mailbox through their PC or laptop in the office.